krsna Posted April 10, 2004 Report Share Posted April 10, 2004 JUDAS ISCARIOT From BBC: This Easter weekend, the name Judas will be invoked from pulpits and in the media across the Christian world. Is the story of the man who betrayed Jesus true - or is he a convenient symbol of the Christian idea of evil? When, according to the Gospels, he identified Jesus to the Romans in the Garden of Gethsemane by way of a kiss - making himself 12 pieces of silver better off - Judas Iscariot condemned himself to eternal damnation. In Germany, parents are not allowed to name a child Judas because of the potential harm it may cause. In Dante's Inferno, Judas is condemned to the lowest circle in Hell, doomed to be chewed for eternity in the mouth of Satan. The betrayal led to the crucifixion Renaissance paintings represent him as the embodiment of cowardice. The name Judas is synonymous with the words traitor and treachery. But recent research has offered more sympathetic interpretations of his role. The eminent Canadian biblical scholar, Professor William Klassen, argues in a biography of Judas that as the early Christian church began to move away from Judaism at the end of the first century, it either invented or exaggerated details about Judas's betrayal of Jesus in order to cast him as the archetypal Jewish traitor. Anti-Semitism This theme is also explored by Jewish writer Hyam Maccoby in his book Judas Iscariot and the Myth of Jewish Evil. Maccoby argues that Judas' portrayal in the Gospels and Acts is unhistorical. Paul's Epistles mention no treachery; the Gospels, written long after Christ's death, show how the story became more and more embroidered as time went on. Mel Gibson's film depicts the events remembered at Easter His bargain with the priests, his dishonesty and meanness appear only in the later accounts. "The popular myth of Jewish miserliness can be traced to Judas' love of money," Maccoby says, and he sees the caricature handed down through art and the medieval passion plays. Professor Klassen found that the Greek verb paradidomi, used in the Gospels to describe Judas's actions, meant "to hand over" rather than "to betray", as it was invariably translated. He shows that on the 59 occasions on which paradidomi is translated when relating to the death of Jesus, 27 are given as "hand over" when Judas is not mentioned, and 32 as "betray" when he is. This demonstrates how the translators were moulded by preconceived notions of Judas' treachery. Official merchandise for the film Mel Gibson opted for the original Aramaic in his film The Passion of The Christ. Yet he sticks to Luke's version of events - that Judas was possessed by Satan and, riven with remorse, he subsequently hangs himself, having handed back the blood money. Some scholars have suggested that Judas was merely the negotiator in a pre-arranged prisoner exchange following the moneylender riot in the Temple. He gave Jesus to the Romans with Jesus full knowledge and consent and, therefore, the later portrayal was, once again, a distortion. Judas may have informed on Jesus because he felt he had betrayed the rebel movement. In his book The Passover Plot, the British theologian, Hugh Schonfield, argued that the crucifixion of Christ was a conscious re-enactment of Biblical prophecy. Judas is mentioned in the Bible only during the final days of Christ. There is no character build-up, no context. The current ABC Television movie Judas imagines him as an anti-Roman rebel whose rage and emotional instability stems from a traumatic childhood in which he witnesses his father's crucifixion. Whatever the truths of Judas Iscariot, his religious significance is profound, involving such concepts as betrayal, redemption and free will. "I'm not saying Judas is a saint," says William Klassen. "But we owe him an enormous debt for having helped Jesus to accomplish God's will." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krsna Posted April 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2004 Jesus & Judas By Michael English -- Summary: This sketch contrasts the characters of Jesus and Judas. It was written to be performed on the Wednesday before Good Friday. It will need minor editing to be performed at another time. Bible Reference: Matthew 26:14-16 and 27:3-10 etc. Characters: Judas and Jesus. Props: None, but, if you've got the facility, a dark stage and a spot on each of the two characters would be cool. Setting: A bare stage. -- (Jesus and Judas stand side by side on opposite sides of the stage.) Jesus: I am Jesus Judas: I am Judas Both: For the last few years we have run the race of life together. Jesus: Across Galilee Judas: Across Judaea Both: Without a place to lay our heads. Jesus: We have seen the lost found. Judas: The sick healed Jesus: Good News preached to the poor Judas: And demons cast out Both: And now we come to the final lap. We will run with determination the race that is set before us. Jesus: It is Wednesday. Soon the race will end. Judas: Tomorrow, I will depart into the night. Jesus: Soon the lambs will be sacrificed for Passover. Both: But which of us will win the prize? Judas: I will win thirty pieces of silver. The price of a man's life. Jesus: And I will win a cross and pour out my life to death. Both: But this is not the end. Judas: For I will hang myself and become a by-word for traitors. Jesus: And I will rise to life and become the Saviour of the World. Both: He who loves his life will lose it. But he who is willing to give up his life will keep it for life eternal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krsna Posted April 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 10, 2004 Report Share Posted April 10, 2004 Haribol. Judas was a childhood friend of Lord Jesus Christ, the offence he made is common in that he mistook Lord Jesus as an ordinary being, familiarity breeding contempt. His (judas) contrition is between him and whom he betrayed, and last time I looked, Jesus offered forgiveness for all who did what they did without knowing what they were doing. Judas did not spent the money, once he touched it, he threw it away, filled with remorse. He did not kill jesus, he was led to believe that jesus was wanted for questioning, and that the jews had full control over whether he was to live or die. Rome brought him in because this is what the leaders of the sanhedrin wished, and rome did not want him killede either. Judas made a bad deal, and is folrever tainted as the most treacherous, even his name invokes treachery, but, like his modern contemporary benedict arnold, there is much more to the story than the actual betrayal. Haribol, ys, mahaksadasa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krsna Posted April 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2004 Jesus offered forgiveness for all who did what they did without knowing what they were doing ------------------------------- Yes,good analysis of the deeper truths regarding the Son of Man lila Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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